Sheet-feeding mechanism



Aug. 31', 1926. 1,597,907 I f E. R. LINEBAUGH SIQEIET `FEEDING MECHANISM s sheets-sh'eet 1 l Fled Jan. 17, 1924 Aug. 31 1926.

' E. R. LINEBAUGH v SHEET FEEDING MECHANI SM 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented Aug. 3 1, 1926. Y

U Nfl TEE? yS i EDWARD Litteraires, onfrnnsnn'ron, onro, .essiGNon To THE DIAMOND Maron COMPANY, or entiendo,

IILLINOS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

'l'srrnEr-FEEDING fifincrranrsrr.

Application filed January 17, 1924. SeraljNo. 686.720.

jheet feeding tendants, one vlocated lat each vsidelof the machine.

The object'of my invention is to provide meanswhereby relatively large and heavy printed sheets, such as Athiclrlpa-per4 or cardboard, .are automatically and rapidly removed from a pile .or piles vand accurately 4fed to abronzing .or otherimachine; and to this end the invention comprises novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and claimed. Y

Figure 1 is aside elevation ofl sheet feedf ing mechanism embodying my invention,'as applied to a bronzing machine, only so much of the latter being shown as is necessary to illustrate the invention.`

Fig. 2 is a plan of the sheet feeding mechanism. Y

Fig. A3 is a` longitudinal vertical section, enlarged, as on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, showing the cam-structure for one ofthe reciprocating feed bars; the forwarding tapes, and adjuncts.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the said cam structure, as on the lline 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. V5 is a similarsection.` as on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, showing the registering fingers, the adjacent sheet depressing and sheet positioning fingers, and adjuncts. l Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating one of the sheet positioning .fingers andits supporting parts. j

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the sheet carrying .cylinder of a bronzing. machine of the type illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No.`1,107,773, lated August 18, 1914:. The usual inclined designed (for use 4 especially,`

feed bed l11 of the machine is provided at that end adjacent the peripheral path `of the cylinder with 'oscillatory 'reglstering fingers 12 which are operable to position the leadingedge of the sheet 'in the path-.of the usual .grippers y13 that are 1carried yby the, cylinder. The/lingers are supported by a transverse vshaft 14 journaledV in brackets 14 'on the main frame and `having at one V enda cranlrfarm 15 which is jointed toa bar 16 under'the controlofa cam 17 on-the power-driven'cylinder shaft 18. This cam is of proper contour Ato effect through the bar and cranlrconnections the desiredinten mittent operation ofthe registering lingers to position and release the sheetintimed relation tothe rotation lof the carrying cylinder. Y

10 .designates a series of vibratorypressure fingers arranged to overhang' the sheets as they progress to the registering fingers. The fingers 19 are mounted on a transverse rock shaft 19t-having its bearings in the bracket-s A14:. On one-end ofthe shaft is a crank arm 20 which is 'jointed `to va bar 21 having aroll .Q2-bearing on a cam 23 `fast on the cylinder shaft. This cam is in such timed relation to the adjacent `cam 17 that the rock-shaft 19 and its fingers 19-are actuated to depress the sheets whenthe leading-edges of the latter are in Contact with the regis-A tering fingers.

Asa-beve indicated the sheets have heretofore b'eenstacked on the bed 11 and :then manually fed to the registering Yfingers preparatory to lthe engagement fof the sheets with the grippers ofthe cylinder'.

ln accordance with my invention l mount on the front of the bed 11 aplaltform '24 upon which the printed sheets are stacked, and I provide between the platform and the registering and pressurefingers novel mechanism whereby the sheets are removed from the pile or piles and delivered in an orderlyl manner-to thesa'id fingers. This mechanism, initsjpreferred form,is as follows: l designatesfa series of spaced-apart forwarding belts, the -upper `runs Offwhich are inclined fromgthe delivery end of the. platform .24 to va planein proximity to v.thepres sure lingers. These-belts are sup'ported'by pulleys 26, 27 -fast on cross-shafts 28,2e having their bearingsin suitablyfdisposed brackets 30, 31, respectively. Fast on one respectively from two laterally adjacent piles on the platform 24.

35 designates a rock-shaft parallel with, and in a plane betweenand above the shafts 14,19. The shaft 35,.which is ournalled kin brackets 36 on the sides ofthe main frame,

is provi/ded with fa pair of upwardly Land .forwardly extending arm- 37` to which are pivotedthe rearward ends of a pair'of parallel bars 38, .the free endsA of which overhang the delivery end of the platform 24 directly abovel they median lines of lthe respective pilesl ofi/sheets. 0 The bars 38 areprovided with adjustable supporting brackets 39 for frictional feed rolls-40 that are adapted to bear,by gravity, upon-the underlying sheets of the respective piles `V`on "the platform. Fast onl one end ofthe rock-shaft 35is a cranlearni 4l which' is connected by means of a .rod 42 with a wrist pin 43 on the cam 23 hereinbefore-referred to. Hencel during the rotation of the cylinder the shaft 35 is oscillated inafmanner to effect the longitudinal reciprocation of the bars 38 and their feed rolls 40.

On each of the bars 38 in proximity to its forward end, isl a laterally-disposed roll 44 which lies within a stationary casing 45 and travels longitudinally Vthereof during the reciprocation of the bar. This casing preferably comprises la channel member adjustably mounted, withits open side inward, on a bridge bar 46 having depending legs 47 that are rigidly bolted to the respective sides of the framework. In'the present instance each channel member is provided with a pair of angle clips48 which, when the casing is applied to the under sideof the bridge bar, overhang the balr and* are clamped 'thereto by bolts 49. By manipulating the bolts the clips can be releasedand the casing be adjusted along the bridge bar and clamped in any desired position. A strip 49 fixedly supported on the channel member, so as to depend adjacent the 'open side of the latter, serves to guide the bar and maintain it in operative relation to the said member. f To the inner vertical wall of each of the channel members is pivoted, as 'at 50, the forward end' ofa latch ,cam 51, the opposite end of which is downwardly inclined, as at 52, and'rests by gravity onv the bottom of the casing. The under side of the inclined portion of the vcam lies in ythe path of the adjacent roll 44 when the bar 38 thereof vis moved'rearwardly. Fixed within the channelfmeinber is an inclined cam 53 vwhich is spacedfrom vthe nose of the latch cam 5l and lies forwardly of and below the latter. TheA co-operative relation of the parts above described is such that in they rearward 1" strokeof the bars 38 the feed rolls40 thereof bear upon the top sheets of the respective piles and byY frictional contact pull such sheets vrearwardly and deposit them upon the forwarding belts 25. In this stroke the lateral rolls 44 on the bars travel beneath and beyond the proximate latch cams, which cams are raised by the action of the rolls, but at once drop when'the rolls clear them.

Hence in the succeeding forward stroke of f1 the arms such rolls ride upon and along the tops ofrthe latch cams and temporarily f maintain the bars in elevated position with their respectivev feed rolls 4() above the plane of the paper on the platform. As the bars j the bars 38 betweenV the bottoms of the respective casings and the pivoted ends of the j j adjacentvlatch cams, is, of course, sufficient to ensure the operation of the feed rolls upon the succeeding sheets from the top to the bottomV of the respective piles.

`- The pivot studs 50 of the latch cams ex- Y tend outwardlybeyond thevertical walls of the respective casings and have affixed thereto the upper ends of 'downwardly and rearwardly extending rods 54 Athat .overlie the paths of the respective sheets borne by the forwarding belts, and thus prevent upward displacement of the sheets.

Fastened to the underside of eachofthe casings'is a forwardly vand upwardly inclined strip 55 which serves as a guard to prevent the leading end of the sheet from 'catching on thecasing as the sheet Vis being advanced from the pile bythe feed roll;

and rotatably mounted on the side wall'of the casing isa small toothed or serrated.

wheel 56 whichy projects lslightly into the .path Lof the advancing sheet and thus obviates all -liability of Contact of the inked surface of-the'sheet with the strip. Y v

While the sheets are yprogressing with the upper runs of th'e'forwarding belts, the leading ends ofthe sheets encounter a rowr of upstanding pins 57which act to straighten the sheets and square them on the belts,

'which pins are thereupon depressed belowV the belts to permit the continued travel of the sheets. In the present instance the pins 57 project from a transverse rock-shaft 58 which is journaled in brackets 59 secured to the legs f7 of the bridge bar. Fast on one end of the shaft 58 is a crank arm 59 which is connected by means of a link 60 with a crank arm 6l on the shaft 14 which carries the registering fingers l2, and hence the pins 57 and the fingers l2 are actuated in harmony; that is, the pins are swung down to allow the sheets to continue their rearward travel, and at the same time the registering fingers are raised to permit the sheets which are in contact therewith to be engaged by the grippers of the cylinder 10; and conversely.

When the leading ends of the sheets escape the forwarding' belts and progress to the registering fingers, such ends encounter the fingers 19 which are operable, as usual, to depressthe sheets into position to be engaged by the grippers of ther cylinder.

In order to insure the proper positioning of the edges of the sheets against the registering fingers 12, a. series of vibratory depending fingers 62 are constructed and arranged to engage the trailing ends of the sheets as they approach the fingers l2. The fingers 62 are carried by a cross-shaft 63 which is located above the rearward ends of the forwarding belts, and has its bearings in brackets 64 mounted on angular supports 65 which are bolted to the respective brackets 30. The shaft 63 has at one end a depending pin 66 which is connected by means of a spring 67 to a pin on the adjacent support 65, which spring tends to maintain the shaft 63 ina position with the fingers 62 above the upper runs of the forwarding belts. A suitable pin 66 on the shaft contacts with a stud 68 on the adjacent bracket 64 and limits the upward movement of the fingers 62. In the present instance the brackets 64 are secured to the supports 65 by means of bolts 69 passing through longitudinal slots TO in the supports so that such brackets can be readily adjusted horizontally in respect to the registering fingers so as to position the fingers 62 in accordance with the width of the sheets.

A flexible connection` as, for example, a chain 7l, connects the pin 66 with the shaft 35 carrying the arms 37 for feeding bars, and hence in the impulse of such shaft to move the bars forward the chain effects a pull on the shaft 63 to swing the fingers 62 yieldingly downward and rearward against the opposing ends of the sheets on the forn warding belts, which sheets are thus pressed against and maintained in close contact with the down swung resgistering` fingers. It is to be not-ed that the connection between the shafts 35 and 63 is made flexible because the former has agreater movenientthan the latter shaft, 'which shaftl 63 is provided with `a limiting stop as above described.

ft is to be understood that my inventionk is not Vlimitedito ythe `specific construction yherein disclosed, as the mechanism may be An'iodified within the principle ofthe inven- Ition and the scope of the appended claims.

i claimj v l. In a sheet feeding mechanism, the combination witha support for a stack of'sheets,

vof forwarding belts adjacent said support,

a bar having a sheet feeding member mounted to overhang the support, means for longitudinally reciprocating said bar to move said member toward and from the belts, means including a supporting element for imparting a rising and falling motion to said bar during its reciprocation, a forwardly and upwardly inclined guard strip extending from said element, and a serrated wheel adjacent to and projecting below' the plane of said strip.

2. fn sheet feeding mechanism, the combination with sheet registering fingers, and means for actuating the same, of forwarding belts leading toward said fingers, means for feeding sheets successively upon said belts, sheet positioning members movable above and below the path of the upper runs of the belts and operable to engage the trailing ends of the sheets as the sheets approach said fingers, and means for actuating said members in timed relation to the sheet feeding means and the registering fingers.

3. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination with registering lingers operable to receive and position the leading edge of a sheet, and means for actuating the said fingers, of forwarding belts leading toward said fingers, means for feeding sheets successively uponsaid belts, oscillatory sheet positioning members spaced from the registering fingers and operable to engage and advance the trailing end of each sheet as the sheet approaches the fingers, and means for actuating said members in timed relation to the sheet feeding means and the registering fingers.

d. ln sheet feeding mechanism, the combination with registering fingers operable to receive and position the leading edge of a sheet, and means for actuating the fingers, of forwarding belts leading toward said fingers, means, including a rock shaft, for

feeding sheets successively upon said belts, means for actuating said rock shaft, oscillatory sheet positioning members spaced from the registering` fingers and operable to engage and advance the trailing end of each sheet as the sheet approaches the said fingers and connections whereby the said members are oscillated during the operation of the said rock shaft.

5. fn sheet feeding mechanism, the comlOO bination with sheet registering fingers, andl means for actuating the saine, of forwarding belts leading toward said fingers, means, in!

oluding' a rock-shaft and a reciprocating bar, for feeding sheets successively upon said belts? sheet positioning means including members movable into and from the path of the upper runsk of the belts and operable to engage the trailing ends of the sheets as they approach said fingers, a rock-shaft for said menibers,a` resilient connection for said shaft operative to turn the latter to a position with the said membersin up condition when the reciprocating bar is moved rear- 'ward and a flexible connection between the 15 Signed at Barberton, in ythe county of 20 Summit and State of Ohiol this V`14th day of January A. D. 1924.`

' 'EDWARD R. LINEBAUGH. 

